Container



oct. 1o, 195o J. P. CARROLL 2,524,766

CONTAINER Original Fied July 5, 1945 l W Mim l l l n ge INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 10, 1950 2,524,766 CONTAINER Joseph P. Carroll, Maplewood, N. J., assignor to American Can Company, New-York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Original application July 5, 1945, Serial No.

603,325. Divided and this application November 14, 1946, Serial No. 709,824

2 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to liquid-proof containers for Vthe packaging and delivery of liquids, such as milk and the like, and has particular reference to such a container preferably made from paper or fibre stock having a bellows bottom construction which is pre-bent before liquid-proofing to prevent leakage of the contents through subsequent rough handling of the con tainer. This is an improvement upon the container disclosed in United States Patent 2,085,979, issued July 6, 1937, to John M. Hothersall, on Container.

This is a division of my United States patent application Serial Number 603,325, filed July 5, '1945, on Container and Method of Producing Same.

In the production of tubular containers of the Hothersall type preferably made from paper, fibre or similar stock, it has been the practice to form a rigid supporting truss portion at the open ends of a tubular container body to brace the body then horizontally inward in spaced relation to the horizontal outward wall to provide an end closure receiving channel and support shoulder. The top and bottom end members then are rmly secured within .such a receiving channel by a thermoplastic cement or other suitable adhesive which produces a strong liquid-proof joint.

Under severe handling of these containers in transporting them from the lling plant to the ultimate consumer, leaks have occurred occasionally in the bottom end joint due to the crushing of the aforementioned rigid end construction. These leaks have been attributed chiefly to the bottom end being partly separated at the base of the truss portion where the bottom end meets the outer curvature of the sharp angle between theobliquely inwardly bent portion of the body and the outer horizontal support. Such separation of the end seam under a crushing blow at the bottom joint of the container permits the liquid contents to leak past or around the bottom joint.

Occasionally the leaks have also been attributed to the breaking of the liquid-proof coating at the upper corner of the truss portion when this rigid truss portion is distorted under a severe crushing action against the bottom joint of the container. The breaking of the liquid-proof coating caused by a distortion of any portion designed to remain undistorted permits the liquid contents of the container to seep into the bre between the container body and its end seams.

An object of the invention is the provision of a fibre container for liquids wherein the end members of the container are connected to the body member by way of end seams which include a flexible connecting channel member having its corners bent to a predetermined degree of sharpness, prior to coating the container with a liquidproofing substance, so as to resist subsequent deformation of the end seams in a horizontal plane and so as to prevent the flexing or breaking of the liquid-proof coating at any location other than said predetermined location so that any subsequent crushing action against the end seams will have no harmful effect on the container and will thereby prevent leaks through the end seams.

Another important object of the invention is the provision of a predetermined, pre-bent channel member which is formed of such a shape so as to counteract the hydrostatic pressure of the contents upon it when the container is subjected to severe handling shocks, thereby counteracting the normal tendency of the container stock to resume its original shape and tending to separate the joint between the container body and end member.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent as it is better understood from the following description, which, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment thereof.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective View of a sealed con tainer embodying the present invention and produced in accordance with the method steps of the invention; and

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary enlarged sectional view of the bottom end of the container shown in Fig. 1. i

As a preferred embodiment of the instant invention the drawings illustrate a brc, rectangular shaped, milk container having a shock resistant end seam construction adapted to prevent leaking of the' container. The container comprises a substantially rectangular body member Il (Figs. 1 and 2) closed at its ends with suitable top and bottom ends or closure members I2, I 3. The body Il preferably is formed from a single sheet of brous material which is folded at right angles to provide four side walls, designated by the numeral Il. The edges of the sheet are joined along one of the side walls in an overlapped vertically disposed side seam I5. These seamedges are secured together with a suitable adhesive and a liquid-tight side seam results. Top and bottom end members I2 and I3 preferably are square and are formed of fibrous material.

For the purpose of providing flexible, leakproof end seams resistant to shocks and crushing blows, particularly at the bottom, the body marginal portions are bent inwardly, preferably at substantially right angles, resulting in a sharp annular corner I8 (Fig. 2) and a substantially horizontal wall section I9'. The wall section I9 merges into a curved wall section 2 I which merges in to an outwardly extending horizontal wall section 22 disposed in spaced and substantially parallel relation to the wall section I9. These wall sections I9, 22 together with their connecting curved wall section 2| set off a flexible U-shaped channel member 23 extending completely around the container body adjacent its ends. The wall section 22 of this channel member forms a shoulder or supporting wall for the bottom end member I3.

A securing flange 25, being a continuation of the channel wall section 22 extends down around the peripheral edge of the end member I3 and' thence inwardly against the outer surface of the end member as best shown in Fig. 2 to hold the end member in place. As hereinbefore mentioned, a suitable liquid-proof adhesive is interposed in this end seam joint, between the end member I3 and the channel wall section 22 and the flange 25 to provide a strong liquid-tight seam.

For best results in preparing the container for subsequent shocks during use, it is desirable to form the corner I8 of the channel member 23 as sharp as possible and this is effected by col- `lapsing the end of the container against this corner. This action pre-bends the material of the body side wall and the wall section I9 vof the channel member adjacent the corner into an acute angle, imparting to this corner a definite, permanent pre-set or pre-formation such as would result from a crushing blow on the filled container if it had not been pre-bent, so that after this bending operation, when the inherent flexibility of the material tends to spring these wall sections apart, a predetermined flexible sharp corner of substantially right angle form will result. This flexible sharp corner of the body is impregnated with a liquid-proof substance such as waxes, parafln or the like, as shown in Fig. 2 and the entire inner and outer surfaces of the container are coated with a layer 21 of this liquid-proofing or impregnating substance to render it liquid-tight.

With such a construction of end seam, any crushing blows or shocks received at the bottom of the container while in use merely ilexesthe channel member 23 and the bent liquid-proofed corner I8' back to a shape similar to that imparted before impregnating and thus in no way injures the container, with the result that the liquid-proof coating is maintained unbroken around the pre-bent portions and leaking of the container is prevented. By this same construction-the flexibility of the channel member 23 relieves substantially the strain on the wall section 22 and the flange 25 adhesively attached to the bottom end member I3 and thusresists any deformation of the seam parts in a horizontal plane and resists breaking of the liquid-proof coating around them with the result that separation of the seam parts and leakage ofthe liquid contents of the container is prevented.

The top end member I2 may be protected in the same way as the bottom member just described. However, this is not necessary ordinarily since usually the crushing action is exerted against the bottom of the container. 'This top' end member is equipped with a filling and dispensing opening which is sealed with a hinged closure 28 (Fig. 1) which may be the same as that disclosed in the Hoth'ersall patent above mentioned.

While I have mentioned the use of fibre or. paper stock for making the container, the invention is equally applicable to other suitable flexible materials such as plastic'or synthetic sheet material, cellophane, metal foil, etc.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages'will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form,v

construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing al1 of its material advantages, the form hereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

I claim: v

1.'A liquid-proof fibre container for liquids, comprising a tubular fibre body and an end closure member secured to folded portions of said body, said body adjacent an end thereof having a pre-flexed flexible corner encircling the body, said corner being formed by the side wall of the body being bent peripherally inwardly at substantially right angles and thence outwardly to provide an inner wall and an outer wall substantially parallel with and spaced from said inner wall and connected with the inner wall by a yieldable curved wall, said walls forming a substantially vU-shaped bellows member, the latter being yieldable at said corner and at said curved f wall, said side wall beyond said U-shaped flexible member being further bent inwardly into a spaced securing flange als'o substantially parallel with said inner and outer walls, said outer wall and said flange forming a rigid U-shaped channel end seam member for receiving and holding the marginal edge of said end closure member, said flexible corner and said yieldable curved wall permitting flexible movement of said corner toward said outer wall to resist distortion and separation of the seam parts in said rigid channel seam member under crushing pressure against the end closure of the container to prevent leakage of the conents of the container through the end seam par s.

2. A liquid-proof fibre container for liquids,

comprising a tubular f'lbre body and an end closure member secured to folded portions of said body, said body adjacent its bottom end having a pre-flexed flexible corner encircling the body, said corner being formed by the side wall of the body being bent peripherally inwardly at substantially right angles and thence outwardly to provide an upper wall and a lower wall substan tially parallel .with and spaced from said upper wall and connected with said upper wall by a yieldable curved wall, said walls forming a substantially U-shaped bellows member, the latter being yieldable at said corner and at said curved wall, said side wall beyond said flexible member being further bent inwardly into a spaced securing lower ange also substantially parallel with said upper and lower walls, said lower wall and said iiange forming a rigid U-shaped channel end seam member for receiving and holding the marginal edges of said bottom end member. said flexible corner and said yieldable curved wall permitting flexible movement of said corner into closer proximity to said lower wall, with said walls out of parallel with each other, to resist distortion and separation of the seam parts in said rigid channel seam member under crushing pressure against the end of the container to prevent leakage of thecontents of the container through the end seam parts.

JOSEPH P. CARROLL. 15

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 802,653 Moxham Oct. 24, 1905 k2,085,979 Hothersall July 6, 1937 2,160,072 Karl May 30, 1939 l0 2,334,041 Scott NOV. 9, 1943 2,344,525 Taylor Mar. 21, 1944 

